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Matt's Cheesy Bits: This week–Kunik

Mar 08th 2013

Certified cheese expert Matt Caputo says:

Imagine a small farmstead goat's milk brie. As if that was not enough to claim victory, now imagine Jersey cow's milk cream added to the goat curds before the wheels are formed. Then the cheese is ripened until the protein and fat breakdown makes for an supple bloomy rind with cheese paste the texture of room-temperature butter. This means 75% butterfat. This means 100% sexy time in your mouth!

Tonight I attended a wine dinner with vineyard manager and wine maker Will Bucklin from Old Hill Ranch. The dinner at Pallet restaurant exceeded my expectations, but as I was obsessively smelling and drinking Will's 2012 Rosé I could not help but fantasize about rubbing some Kunik cheese into my face. In New York's Adirondacks, Sheila Flanagan makes this "Kunik." It is the triple cream goat and cow's milk blend cheese I described above.

This specific combination is not a pairing that I have experienced before but I plan to rectify this senseless tragedy tomorrow. Pristine small farm fermented goat's milk (amped with cream) meets dry-farmed grape juice fermented using no commercial yeasts. If you are not a die-hard cheese and/or wine connoisseur, you may not know how significant this is going to be. Just know that thanks to the unearthly dedication of Will and Sheila, my tomorrow is going to be better than yours.

Ed: note: Find Kunik at Caputo's. The Bucklin 2012 Rosé won't be in the DABC wine store for a few weeks. Keep your eye out for it and meanwhile, try Will's other wines.